It's just like what Luke had said to Elder Veyron before.
Treat them the way they treat the children in Meteor City.
They'll pay the price and taste the same pain they inflicted on those children.
"The filming is excellent…"
Elder Veyron's gaze remained fixed on the television in front of him.
"Staying in Meteor City is truly a shame for them."
"And now that the era is changing, simply remaining here won't yield any accomplishments. Eventually, one must venture outside and take a walk."
In the vast room, only Elder Veyron's muttering echoed.
After this incident, it seemed to have no apparent impact on Meteor City.
For the next few weeks, Chrollo and the others continued filming the series and exercising.
The recently filmed episodes were widely praised by the children in Meteor City.
In their words, the later-appearing monster-men seemed to be more formidable and powerful than ever before.
And the members of the Hundred Beasts Squad seemed to be growing stronger along with them.
The children noticed these changes while watching the movie.
Once Uvogin and Franklin successfully locked their life energy back into their bodies and fully mastered Nen, the remaining members were unstoppable.
Phinks and Nobunaga followed closely behind, successfully opening their aura nodes and learning Nen.
Pakunoda and Feitan, after undergoing Luke's inspection to confirm their bodies could handle it, also successfully opened their aura node and became Nen users.
As for the remaining members, Shalnark, Sarasa, and the others, they could only watch with envy.
After all, they were far too young.
They were tempted to open their aura nodes, regardless of their age and physical development.
But even without Luke stepping in, Chrollo prevented them.
"It's not too late to learn after you've grown a little."
Chrollo smiled and said: "Luke won't harm us. His opinion must have its reasons."
Not only does he say so, but his actions also reflect it.
Chrollo, only ten years old, is determined to postpone the opening of his aura nodes by two years.
With him leading by example, Shalnark couldn't say much.
They could only continue to watch enviously as Uvogin and the others unleashed their power.
As Uvogin played the monster-man and Franklin played Beast King Black, their power clashes were frequent.
Even the villain duo, Feitan and Phinks, sometimes feel the urge to fight.
Besides training after filming, they often personally participate in the plot.
They frequently clash with Nobunaga, who plays the Beast King Yellow, and Pakunoda, who plays the Beast King White.
This allowed them to film the storyline while gaining practical training.
At the very least, over these weeks of filming, they have gradually mastered their own strength.
The others, seeing Uvogin and the others' growth, were genuinely happy for them.
Sarasa, in particular, would pull Luke aside and chatter incessantly in her free time.
This lively girl loved to ask questions about Nen, Luke, and the outside world.
Luke believed that Sarasa was deeply curious about the first two aspects and wanted to know more.
But as for the outside world…
While responding to Sarasa, he also glanced with the corner of his eye at a girl hiding not far away, who had perked up her ears and was listening intently. He couldn't help but notice a slight smile tugging at her lips.
The brigade had finished a day of filming.
They laughed and chatted excitedly about their acting experiences as they returned to the secret base in Nobunaga's home.
"I've done some research on the outside world for you."
Sarasa's small hands were clasped behind her back as she skipped along beside Sheila.
"Thank you so much, Sarasa."
Sheila smiled gently.
"It's nothing."
Sarasa waved her hand casually, indicating that it was nothing.
But a glint of curiosity flickered in her eyes: "Why don't you just go and ask Luke yourself?"
"Go ask Luke myself…"
Sheila stopped in her tracks, hesitating, unsure whether to speak.
"This is the question I was just about to ask."
A voice from behind startled them both.
"Huh?!"
"Luke??"
Sarasa, hearing that familiar voice, jumped and turned her head, seeing the familiar figure approaching.
"I'm so scared… How come you're walking behind someone so quietly?!"
Sarasa breathed a sigh of relief, then grumbled a little.
And then…
As if suddenly coming to her senses, she glanced at Luke, who was approaching with a smile on his face, then turned her head again to glance at Sheila, who was also somewhat bewildered beside her.
She couldn't help but blink a few more times.
"Machi, Pakunoda, wait for me!"
Her large, beautiful eyes sparkled as she called out playfully to the companions moving ahead, then immediately quickened her small steps to catch up, leaving space for Luke and Sheila.
"If you have any questions, just ask me."
Luke gave a small nod to Sarasa, recognizing her thoughtfulness and tact.
Then he turned to Sheila, whose head was almost bent to the ground.
"I know you have always longed for the outside world."
Luke smiled and walked over to her side, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
"I used to love this world, but I didn't actually want to come here."
Luke looked up at the sunset in the distance and sighed softly.
What he said came from the heart. He loved the world of Hunter x Hunter, but he wasn't exactly eager to come; it was truly a case of wanting something in theory but not in practice.
Sheila still lowered her head, only uttering a soft hmm.
"I know what you're worried about, it's nothing more than the conflict between your own dreams and the brigade's goals…"
Luke's words directly revealed her thoughts.
Sheila's dream had always been to venture out into the world.
However, for now, the brigade aims to be a traveling theater troupe.
While traveling, they would present wonderful performances to the world.
And in the process, they would constantly train and grow stronger, until they reached a level capable of resolving Meteor City's problems.
All of this was somewhat different from Sheila's dream.
She had actually been struggling with this recently.
Working together with the brigade brought joy, but the more involved she became, the farther she might drift from her personal goal.
This made her feel very conflicted.
After learning about Luke's situation, she had long wanted to privately ask him about the outside world.
Yet, she was afraid.
She feared that after learning from Luke, she would no longer be able to suppress her yearning for the outside world.
She would be unable to resist the urge to leave this place, to leave Meteor City, to leave the brigade, and to leave her companions.
The thought of this made Sheila tremble.
She was afraid and couldn't imagine how shocked and disappointed her companions would be if they learned she had left.
She couldn't forgive herself for this, yet she couldn't restrain her desire to venture out.
So, she was deeply conflicted.
"… Well, let me tell you two stories."
Seeing Sheila remain silent, Luke began to understand what she was thinking.
He paused, then spoke softly: "One is about a man on a small island who abandoned his wife and children, saying the pirate flag is calling for him, and rushed to the sea, leaving his family for freedom."
"The other is about a man who, driven by his desire to become a hunter, abandoned his son, even giving custody of his son to his aunt."
At this point, Luke looked at Sheila, whose body was trembling more and more, and smiled: "And the man who abandoned his son is the author of the book you're reading, Hunter's adventure, and his descendant…"
Swish!
Sheila finally looked up, her eyes filled with surprise and a hint of disbelief, as she gazed at Luke.
Then, she heard Luke slowly say: "That person's name is Ging Freecss."
Luke and Sheila talked for a long time that night.
And just as they finished, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, 1983 had passed, and the brand new year had arrived.
A new year, a new beginning.
There were no New Year's customs in Meteor City.
There wasn't even a calendar here, things like family reunions and New Year's celebrations… There simply weren't any here.
Because, at the very least, a home was necessary.
In Luke's small group, except for Sarasa, who had a family, the others were all alone at home.
Well, like Luke, they were all orphans.
So, on New Year's Day, they all gathered together… in Father Lisores's church.
That's right, Father Lisores was also alone.
Thanks to Luke and Chrollo's relationship, the members of the brigade had long been familiar with Father Lisores.
They often came to hang out with him whenever they wanted, so gathering there felt completely comfortable.
Without Luke even having to do anything, Father Lisores cheerfully brought out food from the church to treat them.
The group happily sat together, eating and drinking as if it were a normal team-building event.
"It's delicious! The food in the church is also delicious!"
"It's delicious, sure, but I think it's a little less delicious than what Luke brought out."
"Uvogin! If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all!"
"There's so much delicious food, and it still can't shut you up!"
"That's right! Father Lisores even brought out this food specifically for us, and you're still saying that!"
"That's outrageous! You're so disrespectful!"
Uvogin's words were met with a wave of criticism from the crowd.
Upon hearing this, Uvogin simply grinned: "Isn't that right?"
"Even if it is, so what? You can't just say it so bluntly!"
"Yes, yes, or else Father Lisores would be so heartbroken!"
That's right! Even if Father Lisores's hospitality wasn't as good as Luke's, you can't be so blunt!"
Father Lisores, who had heard this from the side: "…"
Well, children, is there a possibility that you don't actually have to defend me?
Father Lisores shook his head, somewhat amused.
Ignoring the children's chatter, he moved to stand beside Luke by the window.
"Elder Veyron has been figuring out the situation of the Mom's Help foundation for some time."
Father Lisores whispered: "Their chairman, Risnorth, seems to be working for the mafia."
"And the connections he tapped into appear to be members of a direct family subordinate under the Ten Mafia Dons."
Elder Veyron hadn't been idle during this period.
Now that he knew who was harming the children in Meteor City, he couldn't just pretend it hadn't happened.
Given his usual cautious attitude, he naturally wanted to understand the situation thoroughly before making a decision.
Chairman Risnorth was very secretive, disguising himself as a philanthropist, making it difficult to uncover his connections.
If Elder Veyron hadn't used some of his own connections, he wouldn't have uncovered his background.
There are many mafia families in this world.
The Ten Mafia Dons are the ten highest-ranking mafia leaders worldwide.
They are the leaders of the mafia in ten regions across the six continents, and they meet from time to time.
They are also the organizers of the Yorknew City underground auction.
Under them were thousands of mafias, among whom the most notorious were the Shadow Beasts.
Among those numerous subordinates, there are naturally direct family subordinates.
For example, in the original story, the short, fat, bald man with small, round glasses, who was embroiled in a conflict with the Nostrade family and competing with Kurapika for the Scarlet Eyes auction, Zenji…
He falls into this category, and his status is quite high. As the family leader directly under the Ten Dons, he participated in underground auctions as a seller and was responsible for security.
After the underground auction was disrupted by the Phantom Troupe, he was also responsible for organizing the forces that would retaliate against the Phantom Troupe, such as the two experts from the Zoldyck Family.
Although those two experts weren't particularly willing to listen to him. This time, the connection that Chairman Risnorth had established was similar to that of Zenji, a member of another direct subordinate family under the Ten Dons.